Eaton's Store - Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Posted by: BruceS
N 50° 23.670 W 105° 32.099
13U E 461974 N 5582631
Historic former department store in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Waymark Code: WM2MK1
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Date Posted: 11/21/2007
Views: 104
"The Eaton’s Store is a Municipal Heritage Property that occupies two city
lots in downtown Moose Jaw. The property features a three-storey, brick
commercial building that was constructed in 1928.
The heritage value of the Eaton's Store lies in its association with the
arrival of department stores on the prairies. Following the company's use of the
mail-order catalogue system, Eaton's established department stores in western
Canada, beginning with the construction of Winnipeg's store in 1905. More than
twenty years later, the company chose Moose Jaw as one of its first locations in
Saskatchewan. An addition to the building in 1940 made it one of the largest
retail stores in Moose Jaw at the time.
Heritage value also lies in the building's architecture, which closely
resembles that of Eaton's first store in Winnipeg. The restrained use of
ornamentation, utilitarian bands of windows, and unrelieved brick work are all
indicative of the style Timothy Eaton strived for as he built his company. Eaton
wanted a building that would convey a no-nonsense but trustworthy message to
shoppers. The building’s brick structure is typical of the remaining downtown
businesses of this era. A bylaw requiring all buildings be made of brick was
implemented in the late nineteenth century due to a devastating fire on December
12, 1891 that almost destroyed the city’s entire downtown district." ~
Saskatchewan Heritage website